Episode 96

The Ornate and the Minimalist: Stories from Warsaw’s Cultural Core Step into the very heart of Warsaw, where two strikingly different buildings—one steeped in ornate socialist grandeur, the other a beacon of minimalist modernity—stand side by side: the Palace of Culture and the Museum of Modern Art's new exhibit. Listen to an exclusive interview with curator Natalia Sielewicz, offering an insider’s perspective on the museum’s vision and collection. Stay tuned until the end for a special surprise: a song about the Palace of Culture—written and performed especially for this episode. Think you can guess who the artist is? Contact me at [email protected].

Listen to some stories from my visit to Warsaw: • 10th birthday of POLIN - an award winning museum in Warsaw which tells the story of the Jewish community in Poland. • An artist's art in Yiddish. • A Trinidadian in Poland. • A multiethnic oasis in Warsaw. • A Warsaw unique church. • Enjoying live Chopin music in the iconic park in Warsaw - a 65-year-old tradition.

Today I will take you on a trip to two continents and to two places almost 10,000 km apart. • The first one is in Poland. It’s the city of Sopot, on the Baltic Sea coast. You will meet Canadian Polish photographer and film personality Ela Kinowska • My second POLcast guest is a black musician/composer whom I heard playing Chopin's music on his keyboard north of San Diego, California.  Also, you will learn about a Polish inventor Stefan Kudelski, whose work truly revolutionized Hollywood!  And finally, the linguist in me always loves to give you something about the Polish language. Visit POLcast website - https://www.mypolcast.com.

What a long way it has been since the idea to create POLcast was born 9 years ago! It started in 2015 and Episode #1 was released on March 15, 2016. This anniversary calls for memories and summaries. In its 8 years POLcast has released 100 episodes. I have interviewed well over 200 hundred people and brought you stories from all the continents (well, except for Antarctica, but weather- or climate-wise we did reach far north - Alaska and the Canadian Yukon).  In this special episode I walk you through the idea and history of POLcast. Many people and stories are mentioned and acknowledged. My sincere thanks to all of them: POLcast collaborators, partners, interviewees, and - most of all - to YOU, our loyal POLcast listeners from over 100 countries all over the world and to our invaluable sponsors-donors. Thank you for all the awards and distinctions granted to POLcast! In this episode you will hear many voices - people from many countries talking about POLcast. Thank you for all these kind words. Changes to POLcast are coming soon so stay tuned!

May 2024 - the very first Polish Heritage Month in Canada. I’m talking to Irek Kuśmierczyk, liberal MP of Polish descent, representing a dynamic city of Windsor since 2019. How did it happen? Katy Carr’s song “Polonia” ends the episode.

In this episode you will meet two celebrities - one human and one animal: Tomek Borkowy, a renowned Polish actor, who has lived in Scotland since the early 1980s, and Wojtek the Bear, a four-legged WW2 hero, who had no idea he wasn’t human because he was adopted as a cub and raised by the Polish soldiers, himself acting as one. What a story! All that with love for Scotland. Also, Poland has won the top prize in the 2024 European Tree of the Year.  A lot of information and links at www.mypolcast.com  

This is a conversation I had during my visit to Kraków with Michael Rubenfeld, a Canadian Jewish theatre artist: writer, director, actor, and producer, who moved to Poland 8 years ago. There aren’t many Jewish Canadians who settle in Poland for good. Michael talks about how this happened and why, how life in Poland differs from Canada, what it’s like to do theatre in Poland. He also talks about his presence on social media, which has become a valuable source of knowledge about Poland for him.

This is the last episode before Christmas and in the year 2023. Both stories in this episode come from Canada - from the city of Edmonton in Alberta: • Albertans United for the Children of Gaza - conversation with Thomas Lukaszuk • Music in Edmonton - conversation with Joanna Ciapka-Sangster. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! PEACE!  

In this episode “Canada in Poland” you will hear three interviews: • With Canada’s ambassador to Poland Catherine Godin, • With the Head of the Canadian Studies programme at the University of Warsaw  Dr. Ewa Luczak, • With three students of the programme. Music by Polky, a Canadian folk band.

In this episode, you will hear three stories: 1. Moses McCormick, a super polyglot who knew 50 languages and loved Polish; 2. Maple Corner about Canadian pop culture, a Polish language blog produced by Joanna Boguslawska in Poland. 3. A secret place in Poland which has just gone through the third major transformation since WWII.